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EPA Exhibit Pays Tribute to Women Pioneers in Science and Engineering

(PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 28, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic Regional Office unveiled at its center city office today a new exhibit honoring the contributions of women scientists and engineers. Located in EPA’s Public Information Center at 1650 Arch Street, the exhibit features a photo gallery and biographies of famous women pioneers in science and engineering, along with Victorian dresses and historic artifacts. This current EPA exhibit is open to the public on week days through June 2013.

“This exhibit, by EPA Region III’s Women in Science and Engineering or WISE committee, increases the awareness of contributions by women who have positively shaped our society and the environment through their pioneering work in what were non-traditional careers,” said EPA mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “Our hope is that visitors, especially students, will be better informed and inspired to pursue careers in science and engineering."

EPA’s exhibit pays tribute to an ethnically and socially diverse group of 29 historical and modern-day women who have made significant achievements in a variety of scientific fields. Among those featured are Rachel Carson, whose 1962 book Silent Spring is credited as being the catalyst for the modern environmental movement, Ellen Swallow Richards, who in 1892 taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is so-called the ‘mother of the science of ecology,’ and Olga D. Gonzalez-Sanabria, Director of Engineering at NASA. EPA’s WISE program works to increase women's representation and success in science and engineering fields. For more information about visiting EPA’s Public Information Center http://www.epa.gov/region03/ee/pic.htm.